Kids in Surrey learn about Co-Existing with Coyotes at school

February 20th, 2013

Earlier this month, our Co-Existing with Coyotes program delivered its Coyotes 101 program to over 900 K-7 students spread across three presentations throughout the day at Hazelgrove Elementary in Surrey. For the couple of weeks leading up to the presentation, coyotes had been spotted by concerned parents while walking their kids to school, which made for a perfect time to provide some coyote awareness.

It was a unique challenge for SPES to present to 160 kindergarten students at once, but we were over-joyed to hear the reactions from teachers and students. One kindergarten teacher wrote in to share how much the kids enjoyed the program and asked some great follow-up questions from the kids. At a Parents Advisory Committee meeting held the next day, parents passed along their kids’ excitement as many of the students wouldn’t stop talking about coyotes and what they learned.

“One mom mentioned she was so thankful. Her little guy who was terribly anxious, even frightened to go out sometimes, was 100% better”, said the Vice Principal.

Engaging a wide diversity of community stewards from the everyday citizen to corporate groups shows that SPES is vested in long-term action and without such action, Greater Vancouver risks losing a significant portion of its biological richness.